Cake helps
by FumeKnight
Summary: Tired of his experiments failing Add goes to his usual baker/coffee shop to get a treat to lift his mood, even if it was slightly. Though the Esper didn't thought that a certain high rank demon lord succubus would come give him some company. (Mini series) Rated T for cussing. (Don't own the image.) First AddxLu ship.
1. Chapter 1

**One of two mini stories I'm making the other one is called 'Add's day off', just something to get my mind working for next chapter of 'The slow descent'. Haven't visualized how the chapter should be so be patient.**

* * *

Add was on Velder just sitting around on a chair near of his usual baker/coffee shop, he's come here so often because the cakes they make here are just on point for his liking and the coffee was a plus for his late nights research. Ever since he became a Diabolic Esper he's been working himself off to make the time formula to go back, but little luck has come on the ongoing months.

His insanity already crossed the line and he didn't care anymore, the last time he went back in time he arrived in a different timeline where his younger self was happy with his family. His rage was at the point where he killed the whole family and his younger self, but that didn't stop there. Every time his time formula failed he killed everyone on that timeline, he simply didn't care and the screams they'd make were music for his ears.

"Hello there mister Add! Is it the usual as always?" The waitress asked to the Diabolic Esper that was resting his chin on his hand on top of the table. As always it was Ariel to serve him, he looked past her and saw the frightened look of the shaking waitress of the store. He didn't know that Ariel worked here a few months ago how was she always everywhere was beyond him.

Add simply nodded his head to her, she gave a bow and left with the same smile has always. He motioned his dynamos to project a small screen where it was saying how much ED he possessed, he still had a fair amount to get the parts the Esper needed for his new experiment.

As he was waiting for his treat the 'little brat' as he called Lu appeared with her smug look, she pointed to the seat across his signalling if she could seat. Add just gave her frown before motioning her that she could. She sat down looking quite content that he let her sit.

"Where's your pansy of a butler at?" He asked to the Noblesse in front of him, she frowned when he called her servant Ciel a pansy or any name actually, but she came to somewhat accept that Add had the habit of calling every thing a name. Except for Eve, for the oddest reason he never called a name or even retorted back at her scowling everyone else he faced was either punched or hurt in some other way.

"I don't always need my servant by my side mind you, I told him that today was his day off." It was true, she gave Ciel a day off, but knowing Ciel he was close by just in case. He would be okay if it was with the other gang members, with Add though that was a different case.

"Why are you here? If you haven't noticed I'm not in the mood to take care of brats." He coldly said to the succubus in front of him, he didn't want to have his mind to be bothered with a discussion or a brawl with kids.

Around the two there were whispers going from one place to another saying that the demon succubus and the Esper where in town together. They were afraid that they would battle right there with no caring to the others than them.

"How rude! You should be honored that I took the time to actually spend some time with you!" She said clearly upset to his statement of calling her a brat.

"Never asked for you to interact with me in the first place! Why do you think the others stay away from me!?" He barked back, he put a wall between him and the gang so that his insanity wouldn't 'accidentally' started a fuss with them.

"Mister Add your cake has arrived." Said Ariel to the enraged Add, his anger though made a complete 180º degrees upon seeing his treat.

"Thank you Ariel, here's the same as usual." He handed a little satchel containing the ED he usually paid. He was prepared to delight himself with his treat before seeing Lu drooling a bit while staring at his slice of chocolate cake. "*Sigh* Could you bring a slice for her as well? She won't stop bugging me to give her a slice."

"Hey I wouldn't ask from the likes of you to give me a bit!" She barked back to the Esper.

"Your full of shit, you would bug me. I already know it." He said while giving Ariel the payment for the other slice, it wasn't on a satchel like the other, it looked like it was in a less quantity than before. She bowed again before going to get the other slice of cake.

The cake was your regular chocolate cake with sprinkles on top with cover to keep everything together. It was plain but delicious nevertheless for Add, heck if you gave him a chocolate bar he would eat it no problem and give you the closest thing of a compliment.

"Huhuhu, at least you know you have to be generous to me!" She said triumphant and happy to be able to eat a slice of cake, she absolutely loved human sweets. The sweets on the demon realm are nothing compared to these.

He gave up talking to her, anymore and he would let his insanity take care of her. With one fork of the cake and his worries of today seemed to sweep away for only a few seconds, he liked that feeling now and then. If only he was alone and not talking with a run down ruler that couldn't see the betrayal on her subordinate.

"You and I aren't so different Add." She said to him in a somewhat reminiscent tone, this took him a few seconds to comprehend those words.

"No, we are." He responded not seeing her point of saying that.

"Yes, we aren't. I lost everything and you lost everything, the only thing different is that we aren't the same species." She explained to the Esper, he never heard her saying this things before. He then stood up after finishing his treat.

"You shouldn't try to befriend me, you should just give up like the rest." He responded back to her in his usual cold manner, just as he was about to leave she rushed to his hand.

"Elesis didn't gave up yet." She responded back with a serious expression.

"She should." He responded after shaking his arm from her grip, he then walked back to his old lab for more experiments.

"Miss Lu your cake has been served." Announced Ariel to the succubus noticing that Add left. "Oh Add left? What a shame, I was going to ask him why he always pays more than he should every time he visits this shop." She said as she went back inside the shop.

"(He pays more to the shop?)" She thought to herself before taking a fork to her mouth. "Wow this is delicious!" She said as she ate with delight. As she ate Ciel walked and sat down where Add was.

"You seem to like that cake, did he payed for you?" He asked with a blank face even though he saw and heard everything that Add said.

"I told you that you that today was your day off you dimwit of a servant." She said quite annoyed that Ciel always follows her everywhere, he wasn't used to having a day off.

* * *

 **I'll leave it here, what do you guys think? Good, bad or maybe (What the fuck is wrong with your brain?) type of review? Anyways excuse me while I go make the other mini story that I announced.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Second chapter. I've probably made something I shouldn't but my brains is that came up with this idea. Anyway enjoy.**

* * *

A few weeks passed from the little event Add shared with Lu, he really didn't know what made her go her way to talk with him. As always Elesis tried to make him open up more. Least to say he brushed her off like last time.

He went again to his coffee/baker shop to clear his head from the ongoing battles he had to face, this time though he came with a few bandages around his head and left cheek. There were some hidden bandages on his torso that his getup covered up, the reason to why he was bandaged up was because he took the blow from two certain people that haven't give up on him.

"Why the fuck did I do that..?" He thought out loud as he was thinking of that demon that nearly took their lives, he can still remember when Its spear passed through his flesh.

"Ah mister Add! Do you want the usual as always?" Asked Ariel taking again the role of maid of the place, he could still see the frightened maid in the background as she was attending the other guests.

"Not today, just coffee for me." He said to her as he was looking towards the sky, how wonderfully beautiful it was today.

"Coming right up!" She said as she skipped towards the counter to fulfill his request.

"(Wonder why they still haven't gave up on me... Its not like I'll just open up on the gang overnight. Their just being stupid, specially that redhead.)" He thought to himself not aware of the few thugs slowly surrounding him.

"Your the diabolic esper everyone's talkin' right? Well see how your hurt you can't fight back us." The leader said to the him, Add just thought of him as a guy that is tough on the outside but weak in reality.

"Your not even worth killing for, go away before you'll spoil my mood even more." He threatened the guy, he REALLY wanted to be alone with his thoughts. That was the only point in him coming here anyway, have some peace before going back into action.

"Says the wounded man that took a lethal blow to the back, get him fellows." He said to his little crew that had metal pipes and chains ready to strike Add down.

"...*Sigh* And here I thought I could rest a bit... No matter. Seeing some blood will help me get my thoughts away! Mind Break!" He yelled making drones cause an electronic wave on their heads, the scum fell to the floor griping their heads as the pain was immense.

"Re-retre-!" Their leader stammered as his head was below Add's foot, his grin visible on his face as his foot put more pressure on the intruder.

"Mister Add! Please don't fight on this establishment. We wouldn't want it to close due to fights now would we?" Said Ariel as she brought his coffee to him, trying to reason with the Esper before he ends the life of a low life.

"Be grateful to her, because I wouldn't give two shits for you." He said as he kicked him with his nasod armor making him fly a few meters towards a few of his members, they soon left running for their dear lives.

"Thank you for looking it our way mister Add, please excuse me." She bowed before returning towards the counter with the owner smiling towards her.

"Fuckers..." He whispered as he took a sip from his coffee, he developed an affection to this drink from the long hours of research during the nights. It always felt smooth and sweeter here than from the coffee he would make that tasted bitter.

"The insane Add being merciful? I thought I would never believe it if I didn't saw it with my two eyes!" Said Lu from the shadows to him. He already knew she was there from the heat signature his dynamos was warning him.

"And I wouldn't see the day you would take my roll has a stalker." He said back as he took another sip from his coffee, now feeling more at ease with the taste on his palate. "Where's that half demon that always goes with you? Did you gave him another day off?" He asked even though he didn't care what happened to him, he never liked him anyways.

"I don't really know. He said he needed to do something today, lousy servant if you ask me." She said but didn't complain either. She didn't want to hear the racket at the Inn where the gang was.

"So why are you here again? And don't try to make me open up to you again like last time, not in the mood for that." He asserted the last part that he simply didn't want to talk about it.

"I came here to eat some cake, they make some really delicious cake here." She said as she waived to the maid that was frightened from both of them, much to the maids dismay she was forced to attend to Lu.

"H-hello miss Lu. W-what can I get you t-today?" She said with some stammering from the fear of being mauled right there.

"I want a slice of strawberry cake." She said almost as an official order to the maid, she quickly noted on a notepad before redirecting her attention to the Esper. She wished she wouldn't have to serve him out of fear.

"A-and you s-sir? D-do you wish something e-else?" She asked with fear behind her words, it wasn't new to him of peoples fears. Even if he was on of the peoples fears. With a little though he decided what he wanted.

"I'll have a slice of chocolate crepe cake, been meaning to try that one for awhile." He said to her in a solemn tone to her, not threatening her as he threatened those thugs.

"It'll b-be here s-shortly!" She said before rushing behind the counter to get their treats.

"You know... Getting cake was only half the reason for me to come here." She said while looking to the side to avoid his gaze, she took his silence as sign to continue. "I came here to thank you from back there, if it wasn't for you me and Elesis would be dead..."

"The great Lu saying thank you? I must be dreaming!" He said as he pinched his cheek, feeling the pain he stopped pinching himself. "Guess I'm not dreaming."

"Stop joking around! Do you know how hard it was for me to tell you that!?" She yelled to the Esper that went back to his thinking state, he always was the quietest when he was thinking before throwing a tantrum against the bickering pair.

"Y-your orders are h-here!" Said the maid as she put the two plates with the cakes they ordered. Add then motioned her to come closer to her to her dismay, the he motioned her hand to him.

"Good work, here's your payment. _There's a little bonus there for you._ " That last part he whispered to her, she instantly thought it was something bad but kept with the ED he gave her.

"I-if you both e-excuse me then." She said before nervously walked away.

"What did you told her?" Lu asked with her curiosity peaked.

"Nothing important, just eat your cake." He said while taking a small slice with his cake and tasting it, the taste met his expectations. Delicious.

* * *

Inside the shop

"Oh god what did he gave me!? I'm afraid of opening the bag!" The maid said as she was hyperventilating of the _some thing_ he gave her.

"Let me have a look!" Said Ariel as she quickly took the small bag and opening it.

"Look out!" She said as she braced herself from the some thing he said, but nothing attacked her and she heard Ariel laughing.

"Your so silly! The something he gave you was this." She said as she pointed to a small sum of ED that over payed their orders.

"H-he gave me a tip?" She said not believing the Esper would do that to her. "Why would he..."

"Because he gives me a tip too! Every time I take his order he always gives us more than the order, a portion for the order, another portion for me and then another portion for the store I think." Ariel explained to the tanned maid that seemed confused.

* * *

Outside the shop

As the Esper and the demon ate their treats Add could see Lu sometimes looking at him for a short period of time then looking a way for a bit and repeat the process.

"You know, you aren't that discrete on looking to people." He said catching her off guard there.

"W-what are you talking about!? I wasn't looking at you! I was looking... At your cake!" She yelled while pointing at his treat to cover up her staring.

"At my cake?" He repeated her words not believing her, she then made a convincing expression to make it solid of her response. Back to her smug face that is.

"That's right! I want to know how it tastes!" She said almost like an order to Add, if it was an order than he would just flick her off and be on his way, but as it was almost an order he would just play along for now.

"Here." He said as he took a slice and hovered on her face, she kept looking at Add and then back to the fork with a slice in front of her. "You said you wanted to know what it tastes right? So go ahead, I'm losing my appetite anyways." He continued before he made his point. She then took his offer and ate the slice of cake.

"T-this is so good!" She squeaked as she took in the taste of chocolate in her mouth. "Here have a taste of mine!" She said with a smile towards the Esper, as she hovered her fork with a slice of her cake. "Say Ah!"

"(Oh crap... What did I just do!?)" He thought to himself as he realized that she just took an indirect kiss from him. "Its better I don't eat anymore..." He said trying to hint her that he went a bit too far.

"What do you mean? You gave me a slice of your cake to me so now you take a slice of mine." She said not getting the hint whatsoever.

"Lu, you took a bit from my used fork. Take a guess." He said giving it a more visible hint, she just kept a confusing look. Looks like she forgot her succubus ways. "Indirect kiss." He bluntly said to her, making her slowly showing a small blush appear on her face.

"Whatever! Just eat the cake!" She said with the blush, to others it was cute and to a certain butler on the area was pissed off and at the same time saying awe to the brunette.

"Make me." He said not wanting to play anymore or he'll regret what might happen after. He took his last sip of his coffee before leaving the place.

"Idiot... You could of finish your cake." She said to no one as he left out of her sight.

"Is this seat occupied?" Asked Ciel waiting for the right moment to help his master.

"Go ahead, nobodies using it." She said as she left the table mistaking Ciel as a regular person.

* * *

 **So what did you guys think? I'll give you three plausible options. (Good, bad or the used expression Fume go home, your drunk.)**

 **Anyway if you enjoyed it okay if you didn't, well thanks for reading it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I honestly don't know what I wrote, hopefully something good because the number of words exceeded the value that I originally imagined. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Current place - Velder Inn

For once Add wasn't holdup on his room, which surprised a few gang members, and was listening to the little redheaded Lord Knight and the Reckless Fist battle plan against the demons with the other members.

"Are we all in to this plan?" Elsword asked to them, they in turn were thinking if flanking the demons would be wise as they are trained to be the ones flanking them.

"(A surprise attack on them from behind with all of us? They must be desperate to not think they would attack the citizens and weak guards.)" Add thought to himself as there were too many flaws in the plan, they were basically making a gamble to get an area that the demons conquered.

"The success rate of this plan is of 53.291%, it would be wise to think of something that would increase this outcome." Announced the Empress to them, Raven was at turn grinding his teeth. They've been trying to come up with a better plan for an hour and everyone single one involved a gamble.

"Dammit! They got us good with that area!" He yelled as his nasod arm's rage device went over the edge, the Grand Archer went beside him and put her hand on his human shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll think of something out." She said gently calming him slowly to where he regain his composure.

"Thanks... I needed that." He said with gratitude to her, she was the only one that could calm his rage.

"How are we going to do this on our favor?" Asked the Grand Master to herself while reviewing what they already knew. The demons got into a very favorable position where if they are attacked from behind they would attack the camp with the wounded soldiers and citizens, if they attacked from the front their shadow raid would take place while they were occupied with the front line.

"Ara, Chung, Aisha, Lu and Ciel were thinking as well quietly to this problem.

"Split up." The only words Add spoken to them, grabbing their attention.

"What did you said?" Asked Elsword towards the Esper, only Lu, Chung and Elesis were the only ones that tried to make him open up to the gang.

"I said split up, muscle brain." He repeated to them, they were still confused towards his words. Honestly he was the only one that stayed in his room not giving two shits on them or their plans.

"Oh I think I get it now!" Said the Iron Paladin towards the gang, looks like Add's idea reached his skull. "If we split up in half we can take care of the front line and the shadow raid at the same time!"

"Eve's hows the plan rate?" Elsword asked to her, her eyes glowed a bit before returning to normal.

"The plans successful rate is of 96.631%. This is the best course of action to take against the demons." She announced, Add was already leaving the gang as she was announcing it.

"Good job Chung!" Said Elsword towards his comrade, the Paladin however shook his head.

"I wasn't the one that came up with the idea, it was him." He said while pointing to the leaving Esper, Lu and Elesis also knew it was his idea as he never spoke his thoughts to the gang.

"Him?" Asked Ciel with annoyance towards where the Esper was before. "He only said two words that made no sense, you're the one that said the idea."

"Are you really that dumb Ciel?" Asked Lu with a deadpan expression, this made him look at her with a dumb folded expression. "Add basically said his idea, Chung just put the pieces together." She explained towards her butler, only now he understood what Add was trying to say.

* * *

Velder Inn - Add's room

Elesis and Lu entered his room to try and talk to him, but when they arrived he wasn't there anymore.

"Where did he go?" Asked Elesis as she was looking at his tidy room with nasod pieces on the table, some wires and components on a small box near the table.

"I think he went to the baker/coffee shop that he usually goes, I go there too to talk with him and try the cakes." Lu informed her, Elesis then looked at a small frame with a picture of a long white haired woman and a small boy with the same color of hair but shorter.

"You talk to him? When did that happen?" She asked as she putted the frame down, Lu looked to the sides to avoid eye contact.

"Well... I wanted to make him open more to us, but I think I grew to like him." She explained a little fidgeting in place.

"Ho... Would you even consider... Love him?" Pretty bluntly on Elesis part to Lu, but she would be lying if she didn't held some kind of deep feeling towards the Esper. He only said that he lost everything, the same with her case.

"I-I don't love him!" She yelled with a visible blush and rage on her face, Elesis is quick on these subjects.

"Really? Then you wouldn't mind me trying to get him right?" She asked, even though she teased she actually was the first to understand him and the first one to help, going as far as to try making him looking her way.

"Don't you take him away from me!" Lu Yelled again without thinking this time, when she realized what she said she quickly covered her mouth.

"So you do have feelings for him! Now I have a rival!" Said Elesis liking the challenge, Lu knew already that when Elesis wants something she goes to great lengths to get it.

"What are you two doing in Add's room?" Asked Chung curious with Eve and Elsword, their yelling could be heard from here to Elsword's room that was three doors away.

"N-nothing!" Said Lu as she ran away from the scene to avoid any more suspicion.

"What's up with her?" Asked Elsword confused towards the fleeing succubus, once she was out of sight he gave his attention to his sister.

"We were just talking brother! Where were you three going?" Her turn to ask to avoid anymore questions.

"We are going to train a bit, looks like Eve wants to record some data to be absolute sure we can succeed." He said towards the perfect nasod.

"I already have collected Raven's, Rena's, Ara's, yours, Chung's, Ciel's, Lu's and Elsword's data for some time now. A update is required to have certainty that we come out without arm." She informed towards the Grand Master, she on the other hand caught on something.

"What about Add's data?" She asked towards the queen, took her seconds to process that question.

"I have no use for such low life's data in my bank, the only information needed from him is his appearance and nothing more." She said with the actual cold coming from her words.

"You know if it wasn't for him, me and Lu would have been killed from your success rate of 98 something percent." She returned back with some fire to melt the coldness.

"That was just a odd miscalculation, it should of been flawless the plan and the data that I had recorded." Eve said with some confusion on the attack. "Furthermore Add must of left his character behind for he, and I quote his words, 'doesn't give two shits about us'."

"What do you know about Add? You just said you only know of his looks." Elesis just found out something to bury Eve for the first time.

"That's because... You... Elsword, Chung. I'm going to power down for today." She told the two while walking a bit faster to her room, that was next to Add's believe it or not.

"You just shut Eve up! That's a first!" Said Chung towards Elesis that stood with a pride.

* * *

Meanwhile with Add

After he left the Inn he went slower towards his usual spot to see the destruction around the town, to him this is exactly what he wanted, destruction... or was it? He didn't know anymore, after his insanity went to a higher level he doesn't know what he truly wants that well.

A couple of feet away from the shop he noticed a small squad of demons behind an alleyway, he used his dynamos to hear their plot this time.

"Alright... Lets go through the plan again. We are going to that place the Diabolic Esper goes often, we are going to kill and destroy the place and run before anyone notices. That should make out stand against that lunatic." Said a glitter commander to his troops.

After hearing the small plan, Add came into sight of the them. They looked at him with slight fear, but with some spark to their cold yellow eyes to take that feeling away.

"You're doing what now, little shit?" He asked while a grin was slowly being plastered on his face, their will was going away very slowly at the grin.

"Steel your nerves and attack him!" Yelled the commander getting moral back up, they charged towards him with their spears ready.

"Reverse Circle!" He shouted disappearing through a portal and appearing behind them while throwing a pink sphere of gravity energy, upon contact they received a great portion on damage and then when the ball exploded they were unconscious.

"Trying to destroy the one spot I can be at peace, heh?" He said as he activated his nasod armor and slowly went towards the head of the squad, he put some effort while crushing the skull of the commander with his feet.

He then used space and time to dismember the rest of the squad, anyone that entered that alleyway could only see that someone brutally killed them. And they would be right.

After he cleaned out the trash Add resumed his way to the place that he didn't bothered remembering the name, once he arrived Lu was already there on the table they usually are, he wanted to go to another table, but they were all full. He sat on his usual spot with Lu.

"What took you so long?" She asked a bit annoyed, she actually arrived only a minute before Add. She just said that to make him believe that she was there longer than him.

"Why are you so annoyed about? It's not like we are on a date or anything." He said with a small sigh, he really wanted to be alone. His phrase though made Lu very faintly blush to the thought of going on a date with him.

As he was waiting with her for service Add took the time to look at the sign that reads 'Velder's peace', an odd name for a baker/coffee shop, but it actually brought some peace to him so it wasn't the sign wasn't a farce.

"H-hello miss Lu, mister A-add! Wh-what would you like for today?" Asked the tan waitress, the same one that is still afraid of them, but she conquered some of her fear to serve them.

"I want a slice of..." She looks at the menu before giving her answer. "pound layer cake." She ordered to the waitress before she redirected her attention to Add that was looking through the menu too.

"Is the oreo blizzard cake new?" He asked to her and she seemed to be beaming for some odd reason to him.

"Yes! That cake is the newest addition to Velder's peace! It's both delicious and has some meaning to it!" She informed him with some excitement, looks like she asked the head to make it.

"What's the meaning behind it?" He asked wanting to know, she seemed to try and remember before she remembered.

"It means 'You can be black and white, but inside you're just like a mirror that can shatter'."

"That's like an enigma, I'll take a slice of it then." He said while putting the menu down.

"Certainly! I-I'll bring your orders right away!" She informed before walking towards the counter.

"Hmm... I wonder what it means..." Thought Lu aloud trying to solve the enigma.

"It means emotions." He told her, her train of thought was ceased thanks to him.

"What does emotions have to do the cake?"

"It's its meaning." He repeated his idea again to her, she seemed still confused. "Basically the meaning goes like this, from the outside you can only see the person black and white, but in the inside his emotions are full of colors. A shattered mirror symbolizes the many emotions a person or demon can have."

"Wow... You solved it that fast?" Asked the maid to him, now that she was somewhat close to him he could see her name tag. Her name was...

"Chloe!?" He yelled as she was startled by him, he could barely recognize her. Instead of her trademark ponytail, her hair was untied and free covering her long ears. She put their orders down and put a finger on her lips.

"Shhhhh! Keep it quiet! If anyone figures it out it's me I'll be the laughing stock around the invasion!" She said almost begging to him.

"Why are you working here?" He asked in a lowered tone to her, she looked to the sides before whispering to his ear.

"Master Ran cut my funds, so I took this job while concealing my ears to avoid suspicion. I had no other choice and the head of the place doesn't mind me working here as long as I don't cause trouble or get caught."

"So you weren't the one that told those demons some ways back that I usually come here?" He asked to her dismay, she didn't know that a squad of demons were coming to way.

"No! Where are they now!?" She asked in a panic state, her reputation would go downhill.

"I killed them, they said they would destroy this one place that I have peace." He informed her before taking a fork of his cake. "This IS good!"

"Told you it was! And thanks for disposing them." She said with some relief, she then left them to go back to work.

"And she was..." Asked Lu eyeing the waitress.

"An old enemy." He instantly replied as he took another fork.

"Hmm..." She said while taking a fork of her own slice, it was pretty good for her.

As time passed Lu and Add kept eating their cake, they didn't spoke nor minded the silence. Until she broke it.

"You feel at peace here?" She asked confused at his words.

"It's the only place where no bickering or work gets in the way." He answered as he was looking to the side, he was just staring blankly towards the road.

"Add, why did you joined the gang?" She asked again, his attention was now fixated to her now.

"At first, it was because of Eve's codes. But those were useless as I managed my code on my own." He answered truthfully, the first of a long time to anyone.

"Than why are you still with us?" She asked with some hope that It was something that he wanted.

"It's because of a little something, the only thing that is tying me down to you guys. If that something gives up on me, then you guys won't see me again."

Lu couldn't believe what she heard, if there was something OR someone that is keeping him with them, then if it gives up on him she'll never see him again.

"Who is tying you down?" She asked to him, she needed to know who was it.

"Why don't you try and find out? Once she says the magic words you'll know." He said almost jokingly to her, but deep down he was serious.

She almost sulked to his response, she wants to prevent that at all costs if she could. By the time she stopped sulking they had finished their meals, Add called Chloe and payed her as he always does, the money for the meal and the tip for her.

"Don't bother taking your ED out, I paid your meal." He informed Lu, she was surprised that he paid her meal. "I'm going back to that hellhole, you coming?"

She only responded with a nod and both of them left together, this was the first time she was actually asked if she wanted to leave by him. Looks like her gestures are coming to fruit, but she is still far away to make him notice her the way she wants to.

* * *

 **Finally this chapter is done, now I can focus on my FNAF story before diving in my Pokemon one. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, just don't expect me updating it anytime soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright, here's the new chapter of 'Cake helps' though there won't be any cake today. No, I opted on something different so that it won't always be cake and sweets. You know what I mean when you read it.**

* * *

Current place - Velder Inn

A few weeks passed since the attack that the gang made against the demons, they were successful in capturing back the area and the velder guards thanked them from the bottom of their hearts.

Things were a bit different with Add and Lu though, whenever he craved something sweet he would gesture Lu that he was going to Velder's peace, she in turn always asked if she could come with him. Now if you think a few months back he would just brush her off like a fly, but since she always went despite him saying no he started to agree. Even though he would rather be alone.

Today though... He couldn't leave his room. Not because he was forced by the others, but because he was feeling ill. That didn't stop him from perfecting another time formula that may or not get him back to his past.

"No, no, no. This is all wrong!" He yelled as he saw too many faulty calculations. "God... I need to rest, but I can't sleep..." He said in a impasse.

*Knock*Knock*

"Go away, you bastards!" He yelled loud enough so that anyone outside the door could hear.

"It's just me, Add." Said Chung opening the door for the esper to see.

"Close the door." He said while correcting the errors on his calculations.

"How are you feeling? You haven't left your room for two days now." He said concerned about him, after all, he was one of the very few people that he talked to.

"What do you think?" He said with some annoyance on his tone.

"Not so good, I presume." He said as he sat down on Add's bed. It was surprisingly tidy for someone that was ill.

"So did you come here to talk or did they called you to do something?" He asked, though he didn't really cared.

"Just talk. Elsword says that we shouldn't bother ourselves with you, I strongly disagree." He said as he was studying what did his table had, nothing much except some paper with scribbles and a pen. A little to the side was a small portrait that picked his interest.

"As long as they don't bother me I'm good. That's the only good thing that they can do anyways." He said somewhat cold to the rest of the gang, his pace with the calculations was going a bit slower though.

"I know you don't really mean all of them." He said with a gentle smile, he had a front row seat seeing Add saving both Elesis and Lu from certain death. That made his doubts about before clear. He says those horrible things despite having some light in his abyss.

"Whatever." He said tiredly, by this point he stopped typing. "I need a refill..." He said as he put his coffee mug on a dynamo, said weapon left the room to fill it up.

* * *

Velder Inn - Kitchen

Rena was making the gang's lunch, today would be a vegetarian dish with bean soup. Only the best ingredients that nature could provide.

"Hmm... Needs a little bit more spices." She said as she taste tested the soup. She got some spicy powder and grabbed a tint of its contents to the soup.

The dynamo that Add sent floated to her side and slightly bumped her.

"Hmm? Add wants a refill?" She asked the machine, though it only displayed the holographic message 'fill'. "Fine, It'll be done in a minute." She said as she took the mug and put the necessary contents needed for coffee.

While see was making it she took note of how the mug look like. A pure marble cup with the message saying 'Nº 1 Asshole', this was a gift that Elsword bought to him. She was somewhat surprised that he would use this mug.

"Alright, here you go. But he really should rest." She said as she put the warm mug on top of the dynamo and it started to move back until it stopped mid way to turn around. "Hmm?"

'Thank you' Was a holographic message that appeared before it disappeared in two seconds later. The weapon then resumed it's course back to its master.

"I think I overdid it with the spices a bit..." She said pretending she didn't saw anything at all, though she began humming cheerfully.

* * *

Velder Inn - Add's room

They just talked for a bit while Add kept typing, but his pace was decreased very fast. The once 16 words every 2 seconds began to fall to 3 words every 2 seconds.

"Add you should rest, you seem weaker than you were about 5 minutes ago." He said getting up to see the espers face. His eyes were black so he couldn't really tell if his eyes were red or not from exhaustion. Though other signs like his abnormal breathing and pained expression said pretty much that he was suffering a lot.

"I'm fine..." He said as he double tapped his screen to minimize for the time being. He then dropped both of his arms on the table while trying to stay awake.

"I can clearly see that you aren't. Why won't you just sleep?" He still insisted for him to sleep. Honestly he started to feel a bit of his pain even though he didn't display it.

"I can't sleep!" Add suddenly shouted at him as he grabbed his collar. "Don't you get it yet!? I've been avoiding sleep for a month now! I don't want to go to sleep!" He said with his wrath and annoyance clearly visible now to the paladin.

"W-why?" He asked somewhat scared of the exhausted and enraged esper.

"Let me ask you this. You remember seeing your father being possessed by the demons right?" He asked towards the prince, talking about his father was a touchy subject.

"Yes..." He said mildly depressed.

"Now imagine if he wasn't possessed but killed right in front of your eyes instead!" He said while gripping his teeth.

"A-add... I can't imagin... Wait." He said as he was looking at the picture on the stand, he finally connected the two dots together. "Did that happen to..." He said as he tried to understand the situation more clearly.

"Do you get the full picture now!? I can't take it anymore!" He said in a fit, he truly can't take another night of seeing his mother killed in front of him.

Chung then looked at his forehead and slightly touched it, it was burning up.

"Just for one day, go to sleep Add. Or I'll have to knock you out." He said as he knocked him only once, and that was when he went on a rampage. The others were ready to kill him.

"Leave me alone, just leave me alone." He said as he sat back down on his chair, he was too exhausted to even try and counterattack him.

Chung was hesitant, but complied with his wishes.

"I'll come back in an hour, by then please rest." He said gently to him, he really wanted the poor esper to get well. Even if he was being pushed away like this.

As he pushed the door, his dynamo entered with a fresh brew of coffee. He then closed the door and left the hallway with a sigh of concern.

* * *

Add's P.O.V

Coffee... I need this... I don't want to dream, don't want to have that nightmare again. Just a little longer... Please stay awake for a little longer...

I'm grateful that she made a strong one, maybe she isn't half bad after all? No, it was just a coincidence. Yes, just a coincidence.

I'm feeling a little bit awake now. I should be able to at the very least see outside the window.

There they were, practicing the field outside. The muscle brain and his sister, Elesis. Why do you try so hard for me to talk to the others? It makes no sense. No sense...

I can see the magician reading a book, no doubt about magic. At least she's not bickering like a bitch.

I can't see Ara or Eve, so they must be inside the Inn. Same with Rena as I can smell some food downstairs from here.

 _"Hey Add..."_ Who said that?

 _"Over here Add..."_ Where are you? I can hear you... On the window?

 _"Hello... Add..."_ M-mother? Is that you? B-but you're dead...

 _"Remember what I told you?"_ Don't repeat those words... Please...

 _"No matter what... I'll always lov-"_ She began saying those words as blood started to become visible.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I yelled as I threw my coffee mug at the window. It shattered in pieces as my coffee flew away.

"AAAAAAAAARGH! MY FACE! IT BURNS!" Yelled the muscle brain in pain.

* * *

Third person view

Lu was walking through the hallway that connects to their room until she heard Add yell. She silently went near the door and put her ear on it and listened to a lot of crashing sounds.

"Shutupshutupshutupshutup! Get out of my head! You're dead! I couldn't save you! Stop talking to me! Stop looking at me! Disappear! Go away!" He kept yelling towards someone, but Lu doesn't know who he was talking to.

"Add?" She said as she slowly opened the door, the sight was somewhat terrifying. The room looked like it was completely destroyed by a squad of demons with burnt marks everywhere, probably because of the electricity that his weapons contained. Cracks of space and time left their mark on the room and Add's eyes were staring at her ominously, almost as if he wants to kill her.

"What did you hear!? How much do you know!? Tell me!" He yelled at her as he lunged at her, she sidestepped to the side and began running for her life. He had a killer intent in his eyes.

"Add! Get a hold of yourself!" She yelled as she ran through the hallway.

"Get back here!" He said in a delusional state, he wasn't seeing Lu properly, but his mother.

Lu then turned the corner, nearly escaping his Pulse bullet. Only problem was that it was a dead end.

"Add wake up! It's me!" She yelled trying to reach him, but he didn't even flinch. No, he kept pushing as he didn't care anymore if it was his mother or not. She would be like the other timelines he saw.

"You're like the others. Always from a different timeline. Always fucking with my head! ALWAYS GIVING ME FALSE HOPE!" He shouted towards the hallucination in front of him. He was prepared to attack her, the only thing he needed was getting closer to finish her.

"Add! Please don't kill me!" She yelled as she closed her eyes prepared for the attack. Only thing that she felt was that she was being grabbed on her shoulders. She slowly opened her eyes to see Add on his knees with his head hung.

"Why don't any of you see... That every time I see you... My heart just keeps being torn apart." He said as he rose his head with tears flowing down. "I want to save you, I do... But how can I save you when I can't even save myself!?" He shouted, the cold hard reality of Add's was physically felt at Lu.

Even though he never showed anything to the gang or her or anyone, he was always in pain. His heart ached so much that he needed something to cling to, something that motivated him to go on. He decided to try change his past for that reason, but fate likes to mess with him.

"Add..." She said seeing his tears flow to the floor. His past was worse than hers, she was successful on getting her rank back. But him... Was he ever successful in getting closer? Was he at least able to prevent something? Anything at all? She felt his overwhelming sadness and hugged him.

He let everything go and this went on and on... Until an hour later he sat with his back on the wall. Sleeping soundly with Lu patting his head.

"You went through so much, at least rest for a bit." She said as she calmed him. Chung barely saw them as he was heading towards Add's room.

"Why is Add here?" He asked as Lu kept calming him down.

"He... Got an hallucination. Can he sleep at your room for today? He kinda destroyed his." She asked as she kept a watchful eye on him.

"Sure." He instantly answered to her, he kept looking at him, sleeping like nothing ever happened. "At least he's asleep now, that's what counts." He said as he grabbed him by on shoulder and carried him to his place.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap. Sorry if it's kinda short, I kinda lost my vibe for writing at the end so my bad. Also I'm very sorry to say this, but I'm putting this story and 'Add's day off' on standby for now.**

 **With the new stories and old stories to update, PLUS my little time that I can put on my fanfictions, It became somewhat difficult to write stuff. I also blame a bit on my lazyness, but we all blame that.**

 **Once again, I'm sorry to do this. I'll update them only after everything is good to make a new chapter for them.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! Hope you all had a nice Christmas! Just gonna leave this here chapter, by the request of a special Esper. (You know who I'm talking about, Noah.) This chapter has been revised and beta read by a dear friend of mine called Assuberries. Enjoy.**

* * *

Two weeks transpired of what happened with Add. He had no recollection on what happened or how he ended up in Chung's bed.

When he confronted him, Chung only said that he saw him passed out in the hallway after he rampaged in his room. He purposely didn't told him Lu was involved as he didn't want the Esper to do something crazy to them.

After months of fighting beside the capital of Velder, the demons were finally repelled and the time of healing to begin, to this shambled city.

"Thank you all for what you've done to Velder. Without your aid, we would definitely have fallen to the demons." Said Vanessa with a gentle smile to the gang.

"We did what any other person would of done." Responded Elsword to her with his chin raised.

"..." Add didn't spoke a word as he walked away from the group.

"Hold it right there, Add." She said as two guards crossed their halberds on his throat.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He said as his irides glowed menacingly.

"Although we're grateful with your help, your past actions and motives are still a threat to us." She said sternly to him.

He turned around locking eyes with her, his killer intent could be felt throughout the area.

"So what? You're going to put me on trial for a killing a few people that were on my way? They were scum to begin with, I did you a favor." He replied coldly to her.

"That doesn't justify your actions. Until we can put a proper trial on you, you'll be behind bars." She declared as two other guards grabbed his hands.

"Hold it!" Ordered Elesis to the guards as she looked at her. "Vanessa, as the commander of the red knights I'll ask a favor on my behalf."

"...Normally, I would look the other way to such favors, but seeing as you're a Velder knight and saved our kingdom. I'll listen." She said while looking sharply at her.

"I would like to have jurisdiction over Add. He became a member of our team and he has saved me and the others lives a few times.." She explained to her with her claymore to the side.

Vanessa was listening carefully to each words. She was beginning to see her reason.

"If it wasn't for him, the liberation of the demons would of taken longer and more casualties than now. I ask, as a fellow knight and a friend, to let me have the task to watch over hi-"

"Don't put pity on me." He said out of nowhere.

"Add! Shut up! Or you'll seriously go to jail!" Said Chung as he didn't know what he was doing.

"You think I feel sorry for the people I killed?" He asked them, a chill ran down their spine. "Not a bit. I had my reasons to kill them, as I have my reasons to help this shitty kingdom."

"Speak of these reasons you claim to have." Spoke Vanessa with a stern tone.

"I agreed to help if I had a place to stay, to have my lab. If something were to happen to it while I was away, all of my experiments and work would be destroyed and I would have to work from scratch again."

"How can you be so self centered!? You beast!" One of the guards yelled at him.

"I'm the beast? Look who's talking. You think I didn't see what you soldiers were doing while I was working?" Their faces grew terrified.

"All of you are cowards. 253 People could've been saved if all of you didn't ran away like frightened animals."

"Add, give them a break. They were afraid, you can't blame them for th-"

"Afraid!?" He yelled at Rena. "What would be better? To die and know you saved someone or to live and regret it later on knowing you could've of saved them in the long run!?"

His words cut deep in every soldier in the area. A sorrowful look took their faces as arms were limp.

Elesis walked at him and slapped him hard.

"What is wrong with you!? They gave it their all!"

"Their all!? Don't make me laugh! If they actually gave it their all, they could've saved them!"

"We're only human! We sometimes can't save everything we can hold dear, but we can always try!"

"How about you try harder then! Or do you know that in the end it's all worthless!?"

"Nothing is worthless if you put your will into it!"

"That is bullshit! Because in the end, no matter what you do nothing can change!"

"Of course it can change!"

"No, It can't!"

"You speak of something with experience." Eun possessed Ara out of nowhere and entered their argument.

"What do you know?" He said towards the fox demon with malice.

"More than you do." She spoke as she drew closer to them. "I know what your thinking. How awful it must of been."

"What's she talking about?" Elesis asked Add with a serious look.

"Don't you dare tell them, or I'll permanently make sure you won't." He threatened her, everyone was surprised how aggressive he was becoming to her.

"I won't tell them, I assure you. But how long will you keep it in?" She asked him with a hint of sorrow.

"..." He didn't respond. He turned around and walked away with his bangs covering his eyes.

"I see. It'll cause you more harm than you think." She said before her silky white hair turned ebony releasing Ara.

"Ara, what did Add went through?" Asked Elesis to her apprehensive.

"I-I don't know! When Eun possesses me I black out!" She defended herself while stuttering.

"I'll go talk with him." Said Chung following him.

"I still don't know why those two care about that lunatic." Said Elsword with a sweat drop rolling down his cheek.

Lu overheard that and pummeled him down in the ground with one claw.

"Hey what was that for!?" He yelled at her.

"Kids like you shouldn't trash talk others!" She pouted at him enraged.

"I would like to speak to you two, Raven." Vanessa said while looking at him.

"Is it time?" He asked with his serious look.

"What's she talking about?" Asked Rena concerned.

"Raven, former captain of the Crow Mercenary Knights and escapee. You have the capitals pardon, from the false accusations of the noble Alex and the conspiracy of others of the same or higher rank." She informed as she touched his shoulders with her halberd.

"Raven, that's wonderful!"

"What about Alex, where is he?" He asked with a spark of rage on his eyes. His sword slightly unsheathed.

"He's... not in Velder anymore. He moved away a year ago."

"Smart as ever I see." He said, sheathing his sword. "He didn't say where he was going, I assume."

She nodded to him, before he joined in conversation with Ciel and Elsword to what they should do next.

"Excuse me, Vanessa. Who is Alex?"

"He never told any of you?" She asked surprised.

"His past is a little sensitive..." She said to her a little uncomfortable.

"I see. There isn't much that I know between those two, but there were a few rumors that Alex had frequent conversations with him." She said to her vaguely.

"So you don't know much as well..." She said releasing a small sigh. "Well every bit counts, he'll tell us when he's okay with it." She said before bowing to her and returning to the gang.

"So you guys okay with it?" Asked Elsword to the others.

"I don't know... We need some time to think about it." Responded Raven to him.

"How long? The demons aren't waiting around for us."

"Two days, that should be enough for us to rest and ready to fight again."

Elsword looked at the others, they nodded to each other departing back to the Inn.

* * *

Velder Streets - Clockwork Tower Square

"Add wait up!" He called desperately as his armor and cannon were consuming his stamina.

"Not in the mood, Chung!" He yelled at him a few feet away from him as he kept walking.

"J-Just wait a moment!" He grabbed his shoulder after he gave one last rush to get to him.

"Let go, you little trap." He warned him coldly.

"W-What you said... Was it true? You didn't felt anything?" He asked him, while sweat dripped from his face.

"Scum should die as scum and nothing more. Now let go." He warned a second time, his dynamos glowed ominously.

"What about you then?" He retorted back. "What are you?"

"You already know the answer to that."

"No, I don't!" He yelled at him. "You aren't scum and you sure as hell aren't evil, so what are you?"

"Not evil? Kekeke..."He chuckle uncontrollably. "You don't know anything about me and you still think that?"

"You never hurt us and you even saved those two, you can't be evil."

"...I'm nothing but an insane bastard that wants Eve's codes. Nothing more."

"Is that what you really think you are?" He asked him looking down at the road. "What happens when you have her codes then?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He asked him, his face not showing any emotion. "I'll be gone for good."

"W-What?"

"Once I have her codes, there won't be any reason for me to stay with this charade of a gang."

"B-But that can't be true! That's not what you truly mean!"

"Then what do I mean then! Tell me what I'm trying to say to you!"

"You're saying 'Help me'!"

The answer surprised Add.

"W-What did you just say?"

"Every time you say those two words, I noticed it Add. You're masking the pain, the heartburn, the sadness."

"You saying shit again, Chung. I can't feel a thing, because nothing around us is worth it."

"Then why did you save Lu and Elesis?"

"... I don't know." His answer was paused for a second.

"You do know. They are some of the few that haven't given up on you."

"Again with the bullshit."

"If that's bullshit, then why do you let Lu come with you when you go out?"

"Because she would just follow me and annoy me on the trip."

"You know that isn't true, you like her company don't you?"

"She's just a brat that I have to put up with, like you."

"You're wrong. Deep down, you're grateful that she's with you. You're happy that Elesis and I are trying so hard to make you open, you're -"

"Pissed off that I can't have peace and quiet!" He yelled as he grabbed him by his collar. "You think I feel anything of that? You're ghastly wrong, I want to kill and destroy everything that's in my way! I want to be left alone! I want closure!"

"Y-You're lying!"

"I'm not called the 'Diabolic Esper' for nothing..." He said with his chelsea grin finally catching up, his dark eyes ominously locking at the Iron Paladin. "You wanna know what I want to do right now? Kekeke..."

He was too scared to say anything.

"Let me tell you..." He said as he drew closer to his ear.

 _"I want to murder someone, right now."_ His dynamos moving erratically around Chung. They were releasing an unusually high electricity output, all of them pointing at the boy.

"Add, please... Don't do it..." He begged, the last thing he wanted was to die to the person he tried so hard to help.

The sound of broken glass echoed, but nothing happened to him.

Slowly he opened his eyes to see bits of purple glass slowly floating before dispersing to nothingness.

"Stop running Add, you're just hurting yourself more than before..." He said with a tint of sadness on his tone.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap! Hope you guys have enjoyed the chapter and thank you once more Assuberries, you handsome devil! I will be on standby until the new year passes, so until the Happy near year!**


	6. Chapter 6

Instead of two days as the gang agreed on, they needed to wait two more weeks. Apparently the demons had significately damaged the ships that would carry the party towards Hamel, home of Chung Seiker.

Vanessa asked the El search party to deliver a message to the vice captain of the red knights for assistance, with fear that the dark forces would invade Velder once more with even more strength.

Even though Elsword and a few other members were disappointed on getting to their destination as soon as possible, it gave them the opportunity to give them more time to rest and be prepared for any challenge that may cross their path.

"Raven, can you be my sparing partner again? The dummies don't really give me enough practice as they should." Elsword asked him while cleaning his great sword, some dirt stained it while he was training before.

"I can't, I need to do a few things today. Ask Ciel, he's good with his weapons." He replied as he put his weights down.

"I wanted to, but he said he was following Lu. Something about her going to a bakers shop." He said while looking at the Reckless Fist packing something in his bag.

"Ask the others, I'm sure they'll agree to train with you." He retorted back as he left the room with his bag over his human shoulder.

"Easier said than done." He said as he let a sigh escape. Everyone was busy doing their things.

"Hey Elsword! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be training?" Asked her sister as she massaged her stiff shoulders through the door.

"I can't deal with dummies anymore, Sis. I need a sparing partner to hone my skills and everyone is busy doing their things." He complained as he leaned his weapon on the coach.

"Lucky you. I just finished all the paperwork and I'm itching to release some steam." She said as her spirit desires action.

"Is it about Add, the paperwork?" He asked as she nodded her head. "I really don't know what you guys see on him. He's just a crazy guy that wants to destroy everything."

His words were making Elesis shake her head as a sign of disapproval.

"If you opened more of your eyes, you would see that he's not that bad. He even saved me and Lu a couple of times, not to mention he shoved you away from an attack that would of hit you."

"You forgot about the part he said 'Get out of the way, muscle brain'." He replied as he hated him.

"He said that to warn you, if that spear hit your abdomen you could've bled to death!" She yelled at him.

"No I wouldn't. Rena and Aisha could've healed me up and continue on the road." He said towards her with some valid points.

"They were a couple of feet away from us, remember?"

"We were fine, him out of the group would be good too."

She walked towards him and slapped him hard, leaving a mark of her hand on his cheek.

"Ouch! What was that for!?"

"That was for being inconsiderate! 'Him out of the group would be good', that's just wrong thinking!" She scowled him. "Did you ever thought why he talks that way? Have you even tried to understand how he feels? Imagine you in his shoes, what would you do!?"

"..." He couldn't find the words to his sisters angry comeback. Everyone never actually tried to come near him or even to have a normal conversation with. The only ones were the three of them.

Just as she was about to say more, the sound of cracked glass was heard on the corner of the room. A small gap near the bookshelf of the room grew in size to the height of a human being.

From the interdimensional rift, Add walked out of it with a frown.

"Add! Where were you? You've been missing for two weeks!" She asked him concernedly. After the event in Clockwork Tower Square, he disappeared without leaving a trace or warning them where he went.

"You don't need to know." He replied back coldly to her as he was walking past her.

"Hey!" Elsword called him as he stood. "At least talk to her normally, jackass!"

"Elsword!" Elesis barked at him.

"Ho... Looks like someone is finally growing a pair, kekeke!" He laughed at Elsword's poor excuse of an insult. He then processed towards his room.

"I swear, one of these days I'm going to kick him." He said while trying to recover his composer.

Elesis didn't even heard his brother. She was concerned about the frown Add was making, sure he would frown a lot, but that one was different than the others. His expression was pained.

* * *

Velder's Peace - Lu

"Would that be all, miss Lu?" Asked Ariel as the other employee didn't came today.

"Yes, thank you!" She said as she handed over the right amount of ED. She bought a cake for herself when she got back home.

"I don't mean to bother you, but have you seen Add lately?" Ariel asked a little concerned, he would come to the shop almost everyday and not seeing him for so long makes her wonder what happened.

"I... Don't know." She replied while showing some concern. "We won't be coming here anymore, since we're going to Hamel. The soldiers told me that the repairs were done tomorrow."

"I see. Then this your the final transaction here at Velder's Peace. We hope we can see you at Hamel, the owners sister has a shop called Waters Relief. Tell Add about it, I bet he'll be happy to know that."

"(There's another shop like this one at Hamel!? This is great!)" She thought to herself as she began running back to the Inn. "Thanks for the info!" She yelled back to her, as she was waving Lu goodbye. Ciel was following her a few feet away to not get caught by her.

* * *

Velder's Inn - Add's room

He finally entered his room, he didn't even locked it out of his anxiety. He was walking around impassively around his room, he worked for two weeks removing any kind of miscalculations, glitches and malware that his time formula might had.

"(This should work... This has work... But what if it doesn't? Should I really get my hopes up like last time? This could really be the one, but what if its just another dud?)" His thought were scattered on his mind. He didn't want another failure, he wanted to see his dear mother and save her. He wanted to... To just end it already.

He sat on his bed, facing towards the wall. Trying to keep his composure, even though the more he waited the more his hope was increasing as well as his anxiety.

Looking at his hands, he could see the many hours he spent with his fingers. Typing away at the code, fixing it, healing it, restoring it, moving it. But now? He started to see more, something that his mind tended to trick him or maybe it was his subconscious.

Late at nights, he could see it. Blood on his hands. Whenever it was his, the people that he killed or his mothers blood he didn't know, but it was there no matter how many times he washed them. No matter how many times he tried to noticed it, always saying that it wasn't there it was always on his mind.

Minutes passed, and his legs started to shake out of patience. He wanted to just do it and get it over, but at the same time he wanted his expected results.

Fear. He was feeling so much fear of failing, that his calculations weren't right and that he had to do it all over again. Making nights after nights become pointless, his work never successful, him never rewarded for a job well done.

Because in all reality, he was just someone that was broken. And he knew it fully well. Mind broken, will wavered, body used, heart gone... The only thing he had left was...

"L-Lets get this over with!" He said while standing up, his voice wavered. His confidence was diminishing at each second. He extended his arm, making his devices starting to execute the time formula.

Various calculations and foreign symbols started to align and a small crack appeared on the wall. Through it, there was the time river. A sub space that let the flow of time pass and the many timelines that it held were scattered with cracked like mirrors reflecting on the other side the many differences between his time and theirs.

"(Just a couple of minutes to find the one I calculated...)" He said while a sweat drop rolled down his left cheek.

"Add, are you okay? You didn't look good when you came back." Asked Elesis as she entered his room.

"I-Idiot! Don't enter peoples rooms without knocking!" He scowled her without moving his arm, if he stopped now then his work would be deleted on the spot.

She looked at the portal that he opened and was enthralled on how beautiful the purple river glowed through the cracks.

"What is that...?" She asked as she took one step forwards towards him.

"Stay back!" He yelled at her, making her snap out of her trance. "If I make a single mistake, it'll be on your head! Now get out of here!" He snapped his neck back at the portal at hand.

Keeping a portal open and searching something while staying in your own timeline strains the user severely and one mistake could grant him consequences.

"(Come on! Just find it already!)" He thought as his arm was beginning to tremble uncontrollably, using this much power can do that.

"What are you even doing?" She asked as the flow began going faster and faster, until only blurs were shown as the mirrors passed through.

"I said to get out of here!" He yelled once more as his focus started to fade from his current task.

As the cracks were being regularized, the portal started to glow a bright white light. This went on for a minute, before it started to calm down revealing a mirror that was black.

"T-This is it..." He said while huffing out of breath. Elesis' eyes were quickly adjusting themselves to the mirror.

He slowly walked in front at it and waved his hand making the blackness disappear and revealing his mother. For the first time in a long time, Add was smiling. His hopes were high.

"(D-Did I really found it? Please tell me I did...)" He thought to himself as he got closer to the portal, Elesis did the same being beside him.

"Who is she?" She asked as she was surprised at his smile. The woman had white hair and a cheerful smile while steering a pot.

"..." He didn't responded as he continued to examine the timeline, so far everything was the same as he remembered.

 _"Mother! Mother! Can I look at what you and Father are doing today? Can I?"_ A boy with platinum hair, similar to Add's, asked the woman with excitement.

 _"I'm making your favorite, **Chocolate Pie**!"_ Add and the woman said at the same time, making Elesis see some kind of connection.

 _"I'm going to do a very important experiment, and I could use a smart assistant to help me."_ A man, around mid twenties, said towards him with a caring smile.

"(This is it... Everything seems exactly the same Right? Right!?)" His excitement seemed to build up as well as his hopes.

 _"Of course! You'll help too, right Eve?"_ The boy asked towards a girl that was sitting beside him. She looked exactly like the Eve they know, except this one didn't had a Nasod core on her forehead.

"...What?" Adds smile never left his face, but his expression seemed to be in shock.

 _"Of course! You can't be trusted with those tools, Add!"_ The girl scowled him, but a little bit after the two of them laughed it off with a cheeky smile on their faces.

"Th-This... This is wrong..." He whispered as he fell on his knees. "She was never there... This is another fucking timeline!" He yelled as he smashed the ground with his hand.

"Add..." Elesis said trying to get close to him.

"Another fucking failure!" He yelled again smashing his fist on the floor again and again and again. Until blood started to drip down his wounded fist.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!" He continued to curse as tears started to flow down from his eyes. He got his hopes up, only to be demolished once more. "Nothing I do can make me go back to them! NOTHING!"

Hurried steps rushed through the hallway as Lu and Elsword stopped and looked at the scene.

Add was on his knees, crying in agony. Elesis was hugging him from his back, whispering in his ear things to comfort them.

"Damn it..." He said weakly trying to hold them from falling, only to let more flow.

For the first time, Elsword saw the cold and bitter Add crying; For the first time, he saw his weak side and finally; For the first time, he felt as if something was weighting on his conscious.

On a hole on the wall, a glowing amber eye was watching the commotion taking place

* * *

Velder's Inn - Living room

A couple of hours later, the two redheads were in the living room. Lu was with Add, trying to calm him down. Neither of the two siblings spoke a word at what they just saw.

The silence was agonizing as the grandfather clocks gears kept turning. Finally, Elsword decided to speak.

"That... That was different." He commented as he looked at the carpet. How the red soothed him so.

"You see what I was talking about before? If you were in his shoes, what would you do?" She asked again, her brother didn't even raised his head to meet hers.

"I don't know..." That was the only thing that he replied to her.

* * *

Velder Inn - Add's room

"Why are you still here..." He asked weakly to Lu, his eyes were red as the marks of dried tears were stained on his face.

"I can't leave you like that, Add." She said while pointing at him.

He looked at her before laying his eyes on a small box next to her. He wanted to know what was in it.

"Are you here to mock me? On how the cold and merciless Add is looking like a disgrace? Is that what you're doing here?" He said with some venom on his words to her, she on the other hand shrugged it aside.

"No, I came to eat this delicious cake with you." She said while lifting the box and showing to him a perfect rounded cake, with a message on top.

'We'll miss you, take care you two'.

"W-Why?" He asked her, she fidget a little bit before looking to the side.

"B-Because... Cake helps, right?" She said while looking at him. His expression showed surprised to hear that.

After a few moments, he started to chuckle, it later turned laugh. It wasn't a maniacal laugh, it was a genuinely his real laughter.

"W-what are you laughing at!?" She asked embarrassed with a very faint blush on her cheeks.

"S-sorry! It's just! It's just funny!" He said while rubbing his eyes. "Thank you, Lu."

Those words were ones that she never heard him say, much less her name at the end. During that evening the both of them simply at the cake while only making very little talking, just savoring the cake and the moment.

* * *

 **Might change that last one, might. Anyways, hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. As always leave your thoughts on the story so far, your support is greatly appreciated.**


	7. Chapter 7

Velder - Harbor

With the repairs complete, the gang were at the dock waiting from the captain to tell them that everything was ready for departure. As they took a moment to rest, Chung wondered where Add was.

He knew that he came back a few days ago, but he hasn't talked to anyone since then, staying in his room and only sending his creations to fetch him some food from time to time.

From what he heard from Elesis, he suffered a mental breakdown as soon as he arrived. Hearing her explanation, he was looking something from a crack, but what he found wasn't what he was looking for.

"Is Add still not here yet? He may be much more slower than Elsword over here!" Aisha huffed while comparing the two of them.

"Now, now! Let's not be feisty. Everyone has their own pace." Rena said in a calmly manner towards the magician, she looked to the side while noticing that Raven's arm was opening and closing, it became a habit of his to do that to control himself.

What she was mostly surprised was that the red knight didn't even heard her and continued to clean his sword. Usually he would stand up and pointed out out a fault on the Elemental Master.

"Odd, Elsword would've talked back, but in this instance he ignored her and continued with cleaning his blade. This is irregular of his character." Eve stated to herself, realizing that Ara heard her.

"You'd think so?" Ara asked since she wasn't in the group for long. "But Aisha is right, Add is taking longer to come. I wonder why? He's usually the first person to be ready." She pointed out while noticing that Lu was drinking some tea with Ciel.

The duo were simply drinking to pass the time, but since that day the succubus was worried on how Add was faring. Humans were fragile beings, but to balance things out they have persistence to keep pushing things, even if it was against something that they themselves couldn't beat.

Still, everyone has a limit to how much they can take and she knew that he took a lot in. To face the properties of time and space and still go on, that is a feat in itself.

Ciel on the other hand was grateful that he and Lu were able to spend some time together, even though he has no quarrels with the Esper, since he enjoys his food and all, he is a little worried on why his master took an interest on him.

As they continued to wait, Elesis spotted on the distance the boy that was late.

He was looking down on the road with an annoyed expression, his machines following him diligently behind. As he noticed the gang, he saw that the Grand Master waving at him, he clicked his tongue before approaching her.

"It's good to see you, Add. Where have you been?" She asked slightly curious.

"None of your business." He coldly told her while looking at the ship. "It's still not ready? Lazy bums." He commented before finding a place to sit, opening a holographic window to view data. Elesis was slightly annoyed with his attitude, but she was used to it by now.

"Is that how you talk to people? How rude can you be?" Aisha said from afar towards him.

"And? Should I care just because it's you or somebody else?" He replied back to her, letting her get irritated with his attitude.

"Why you-!" She screeched at him, but he didn't even looked at her.

"Now, now, no need to go to that length. Add, would you kindly be more... respectable to others?" She asked trying to give the right word?

"Rena, don't bother." Raven was quick to halt her and quicker to stop Add from respond. "It's how he is, so don't bother changing him." He advised her, but it went to the others as well.

"You say something smart for once." Add commented while flicking screen to screen.

Raven disregarded the insult and continued to open and clench his left arm. Everyone about, except for Chung that went to talk with him.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked him concernedly.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He asked back half interested.

"I heard from Elesis, you've done it again, didn't you?" Chung already knew about his attempts, Add told him so because the guardian asked about it so many times that he just wanted him to shut up. The Esper stopped flipping and looked at him.

"That redhead needs to shut her mouth. What if I did, what's in it for you?" He asked slightly irritated at him.

"I'm worried Add, from what she told me it was pretty bad. Do you always have these after you test it out?" He asked worriedly. Looking at his right hand, he had a feeling that under his glove there were bandages.

Add looking to the side, he noticed that Lu and Ophelia were looking over his direction. He was more surprised that the maid was looking at him with her eyes looking at him. He clicked his tongue, because he had a hunch that Eve made her to record his conversation. But for what reason?

"How many know about this?" He asked seriously to him.

"Only me, Elesis, Elsword and Lu know about it, why do you ask?"

"Good. Don't tell anyone else, the less the others know the better. Less a pain in the ass for me." He advised while closing the windows.

"But Add-"

"Not a single word, you hear me. I don't need pity from anyone or even people to waste their breath on something like this. It doesn't concern them nor should." He warned him before standing up. Looking at the ship he saw the commander signaling them to come in.

"We're moving." Raven told them, making them head onto the ship.

Chung wanted to say something, but kept quiet. This was Add after all, acting cold and bottling up his emotions. It wasn't healthy, and that made him worry about him.

As they got on top of the ship, the captain approached them.

"Greetings! You must be the El search party, a pleasure to meet you!" The man had some age on his side, with medals and pristine red garments. "Unfortunately, since our ship took too much damage we'll have to ask you to share a room with each other. I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience, but with the rushed repairs this is the best we can provide." He explained the situation to them.

"A shared room? This might be troubling then..." Raven commented while looking at the gang. "What do you guys think?"

"I'll share a room with you." Rena spoke up to him, he nodded to her, but deep down he was grateful, it'll be better for her to stay close to him.

"The rest of us should grab a party member to bunker down with." Raven told them while following a crew member to his room.

As the group discussed, Chung kept the closest to Add, but there was a person that he wanted to stay with, though with his friend he thought that it'd be better to stay with him.

"Hey Chung, come over here!" Ara called out with a bright smile to him.

"Ah, that's okay, I'll-"

"Go." Add interrupted while looking to the side.

"But, are you sure?"

"Don't set yourself apart because of me. Just go, it's just a small trip, I won't die because of it." He strictly told the Iron Paladin. To which made him slightly worried, but did as told.

Now that he was alone, he sat down on a few dynamos and waited out, if he was going to be paired with someone it would be with the last person.

Lu would be with Ciel and Elesis would be with Elsword. That meant that the others had to decide who they should be with.

"I wanted to be with Add." Lu sulked to herself, due to Ciel being the first to ask and she automatically responded with a yes. Elesis on the other hand had agreed with Elsword two weeks ago.

"Hey Ara, wanna be together?" Aisha asked while searching for a person to partner up.

"Sorry Aisha, but Chung already asked me!" She bowed an apology.

"Ah that's okay, I'll ask Eve then." But as she was about to ask, Ain already talked to her. "What!? Come on Eve, you gotta let me stay with you! You can't let me be alone!"

"Request denied. There seems to be another person in our group alone, the best course of action would be to ask him." She logically explained.

"Really? Who?" She asked with some hope. The Empress then pointed towards the remaining member that was by himself. "You can't be serious, there's no way that I'll stay with him!"

"Now, now miss wizard. Mister Ancient isn't so bad, he just looks menacing." The Erbluhen Emotion spoke out to her. Even though he didn't particularly liked Add's way of speaking he couldn't dismiss on how he puts a facade up. Despite his looks, the Diabolic Esper wasn't all bad as the public assumed and who better to know than him?

"I won't stay with him! There's simply no way! What if he tries to do something to me when I sleep? What if he kills me when I least expect it?" She questioned with concern for her well being.

Edward heard it all, but decided not to do anything. Sure he looked annoyed, but what choice did he had? He couldn't fly or teleport to the next town because he didn't had the coordinates to it.

"You know it'll be a week, you can endure it." Elsword walked towards them, letting his sister talk with the captain alone.

"A week is too long! Elsword, change with me!" She begged while shaking him.

"But I already talked with my sister before! We promised to share a room together." He reasoned while trying to calm her down, mostly to stop her from shaking him.

"You don't understand, I'll die if I stay with him!" She reinforced the die part since she was afraid of him.

"Oh come on, pull yourself together grape head. You won't die." He mocked while making her tick.

"Grape head!? You try to survive against a lunatic like him, cherry head!"

"Who're you calling a cherry head! I bet that I can deal with him the whole week!"

"Yeah right! You can barely be in the same room with him, how can you spend a whole week with him!?"

"Because I-!" Just as he was about to answer a hand grabbed his head and made him crash against the nearby wall. Stunned, Aisha slowly looked to the culprit to see Add done the deed.

"If you're done having your pep talk then start setting your damn luggage on our room and if I so much hear a nag from you, I swear that the next time you eat it'll be from a straw. And that's me in a good day." He threatened her while the crew member beside them trembled a bit from the hostility that he displayed.

Cold sweat started to form on the back of her neck as she was too shock to retort back. The Esper signaled the man to guide them to their room.

"Elsword, remove your head from there. There's 21.4252% chance that it'll be the room of Lu and Ciel." The Empress calculated while the knight tried to remove it, only for a familiar female scream to erupt from the room. "I miscalculated it seems. That is Raven's and Rena's shared room."

"My my." Ain lightly chuckled while helping the boy, as he helped pulling him out.

"That hurt, damn it!" He hissed as he rubbed his head. "Why the hell did he do that!? If he wanted us to stop talking he could've said something!"

"We are talking about an anomaly called Add. He'd rather use violence to end something than the use of words, not to mention that once you and Aisha start talking, things escalate gradually until either Rena stops you or you're being too idiotic for me to step in." She informed while awaiting for her and Ain's aid to come.

"I don't think he's an anomaly, though I'd like it if he wasn't so violent with stuff like this." He groaned while talking to her.

"Oh? Did Elsword just denied an insult to ? My my, this is a first don't you agree, ?" Ain asked her a little curious of her reaction.

"The blow might've changed his mind on him, if that is correct than a blow of similar strength should restore him to normal. Oberon." She called over her butler to which he promptly got in stance.

"I didn't changed my mind over him, so don't hit me!" He shouted at her while shaking his hands in front of him. "It's just that I kinda wanna give him a chance, that's all!" To this Ain was surprised, the knight wanted to give the Esper a chance? That was new.

"Inconsistent information, why would you give that thing a chance?" She inquired.

"Well, I-" A hand touched his shoulder. Turning around he saw Chung shaking his head. "I can't really say it, just trust me when I say that I want to give him a chance, a very small chance." He gestured with his fingers to tell her how small he wanted it to be.

"...Very well. Oberon, you may leave." She begrudgingly accepted his reason.

"Thank you, Elsword." Chung whispered to him, the knight nodded his head. If Add didn't want others to know what happened he'd comply with his wishes.

Elesis on the other hand was having a conversation with the captain.

"Miss Elesis, I've heard that you're bringing with you a... character with a sour taste." He told her as gently as he could.

"There won't be any problems with him, I assure you." She replied back.

"At any given situation I would agree with you, but this individual is as aggressive as the demons. If he can't be stopped during his rampage, then I apologize in advance but I'll have to throw him overboard."

"But in that sense you're going to try to kill him."

"If it means that the lives of my crew are spared then I'll do what I have, even if you are displeased with my decision."

"Not only displeased, but I might demote you. Killing him won't solve the problem, it'll only make more come." She warned him while eyeing him with a glare.

"I understand, but please see it my way as well. If you can't make him stable, then what else are we suppose to do?"

"He won't cause a ruckus, and if he did we can calm him down. A valuable member like him can't be replaced that easily." Elesis told him, to which made him look to the side while rubbing his chin. "Could you please ask someone to take me and my brother our room? I would like to put my luggage down."

"Of course." With a gesture, he called a crew member. "Take miss Elesis and her sister to their resting chambers."

"Right away sir!" The man saluted before asking the two gang members to follow him.

Aisha was slightly trembling as they reached their room. To both their sides was a bed and a nightstand with a window at the top giving some light.

"Here you go, enjoy your stay." The crew member bolted away in case the Esper snapped at him. Aisha had her arm stretched out for the man while yelling for him to come back, only for him to pretend to not hearing her.

"What am I gonna do?" She shakily asked herself while Add took the right side bed for himself and laid down.

"Not a single nag, you hear me? I want this trip to be as fast as possible too, you know." He pulled up his screens and started to do some light calculations.

"This is gonna be hell." She mumbled out to herself.


End file.
